The expense and complexity of clutch and transmission arrangements have led to a restriction in their application in many devices. A simpler type of power transmitting mechanism using a spring attached on one end to a shaft and wrapped on an arbor has been employed with some success. The spring is used like a ratchet by tightening on and driving the arbor and connected gearing when rotated in one direction and loosening (overrunning) the arbor in the opposite direction. The use of this type of mechanism, while reducing complexity and expense, is limited in its applications because it is useful only when the device utilizes a single speed/torque arrangement since only one spring may be engaged with an arbor at any one time. Another limitation is that the device can drive the shaft in only one direction precluding the use of a reciprocal input. It would be desirable to have a spring clutch which could be employed with a plurality of gearing arrangements and be useful in both continuous and reciprocal drive applications.
Devices for compacting materials have many desirable uses. For example, these devices may be used for trash compaction, they may be used for extracting liquid from materials, and they may be used for baling materials such as cotton and hay. Many other uses for such devices are also possible.
The majority of the compacting devices now in use include either a rotating, screw type mechanism or a ratchet type mechanism to power a pressure plate which does the compacting. The rotating screw type devices usually require complete rotation of a handle and are generally very heavy and bulky since weight is required to provide a counter-force and avoid tipping of the unit. Alternatively, these devices may be fastened to a fixed structure.
A ratchet type device, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,597, issued Dec. 4, 1979 for a manual compactor, attempts to overcome the limitations of the screw type devices by providing a counter-balancing force in the form of a second handle on the compactor. The pressure plate is driven as the handles are moved toward one another thereby balancing the forces on the unit. While suited for its intended purpose, this device drives the pressure plate only during one half of the arm rotation. The outward movement of the handles provides the required ratcheting action. Additionally only one speed/torque arrangement is used with this type of device. One reason that most prior compactors use only one speed/torque gearing arrangement is that the inclusion of clutch and transmission devices would significantly increase the cost of the compactor and make it much more complicated to manufacture and use.
If a compacting device could utilize both the forward and back strokes of the opposing handles to drive the pressure plate, then compaction may be accomplished in less time. Additionally, it would be desirable to have multiple mechanical gearing arrangements such that the pressure plate may be driven at a high speed when lower pressure to the material to be compacted is sufficient. It would be desirable to have a device which could accomplish the above and yet be relatively simple, low cost, and easy to operate.